Saturday, September 8, 2012

Smile!

How
blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

Psalms
1:1, NASB

The book of Psalms was the songbook of
the nation of Israel. It contains in some places raw, emotional
poetry and in others the refined language of liturgy. Psalms is the
largest book in the Bible at 150 chapters and is itself divided into
5 'books'. Psalms 1-41 make up the first book, mostly written by King
David. It is widely believed that the 5 books correspond to the 5
books of Moses, linking this collection of Psalms to Genesis – the
book of beginnings. The relevance of this will become more apparent
as we study the Psalms together in the days ahead.

Blessed, the first word of the first
psalm, is Christian-ese for a Hebrew wordאשׁר
(esher)which simply means happy. The first psalm is describing the question that nearly all people face in their
lives: how can I really be happy? In the first verse, David explains it
negatively, by listing three things which will keep you from being
happy.

Paraphrasing slightly: Happy is the man who (1) does not walk in the counsel of the
wicked, (2) does not stand in the path of sinners and (3) does not
sit in the seat of scoffers. I would like to spend a little time
considering each of these.

First, the way we walk can prevent us
from being happy. Everyone has been the victim of bad advice, but it
seems some people make a lifestyle of it. When we walk in the counsel
of the wicked, we allow those who are ungodly to set our path for us.
They might (and often do) have the best of intentions for us, but
they do not know all of the consequences. A place might not be bad
intrinsically, but will be disastrous for the wrong person at the
wrong time; any path which is not God's path for our life will be the
path of trouble. Trying to walk our own way, which is the way of wickedness,
apart from God will prevent us from being happy.

Second, where we stand can prevent us
from being happy. Somewhere below our actual activity, standing has
everything to do with association. While we should not cut ourselves
off from other people (a very important point which I do not mean to
understate*), we must remember that bad company corrupts much easier
than good company reforms. This does not refer to literal proximity
(as Jesus sat with the adulterers, the crooked tax collectors and
other notorious sinners and even spent time with them), but to standing in the path of their lives.
We should not try and align our situations with those caught up in
sin, daring ourselves to be caught up in the same. Thinking we can
handle the temptation quickly becomes an exercise in the worship of
our own will. Moreover, we almost always fall into the sin we thought we could resist. Like leaning over a deep pit, our intellect ought to override our curiosity. Examples are plentiful: spending time with
ill-tempered people puts us in a bad mood (making us ill-tempered),
trying to slip into the halls of the greedy makes us focus on the
material and fall into greed, et cetera. Usually, people know they
are unhappy in certain company, but still are drawn to it, like
someone depressed is drawn to a sad song or a moth is drawn to a flame. These things clearly will
prevent us from being happy.

Third, and most obviously, is that when
we sit in the place of scoffers, we will not be happy. Sitting is
more passive than standing or walking, and scoffing is more passive
than actions or associations. The scoffer is defined by his attitude.
Here is the person who cannot, and will not, be pleased. They are
constantly afflicted, but it is never their fault. Everyone is out to
get them and everyone is incompetent. When presented a rose, all they
see is the single withering petal. Such people usually seem to brag
about their illnesses and get pleasure from being unhappy. You know
at least one of these people, and might be one yourself. To quote Ray
Stedman: “Parents blame the children, the children blame the
parents, and they both blame the schools. The schools blame the
parents and the government. The government blames the hippies; the
hippies blame the establishment. One nation blames another nation.”
The plain message of the Bible here is that if you choose to lounge
around complaining, you keep yourself from being happy. A critical
spirit, while it may bring pleasure for a little while as you build
yourself up at the expense of others, will ultimately leave you empty
and unhappy.The critical spirit might lead us to associate with the wicked beyond propriety. Association may lead us to walk in their paths. Where you sit affects where you stand and where you stand affects where you walk. Sorrow begets sorrow.

Let us turn away from these things! Let
us give up our negative attitudes, the painful associations and the
activities that go against God. If we instead seek God first and walk
in His ways (Matthew 6:33 and Deuteronomy 5:33), spend time with the
righteous and the wise (Proverbs 27:17 – specifically in church:
Hebrews 10:25 and Acts 2:42), and look for the good first
(Philippians 4:8), we will be happy.

* If you follow this blog, you will see me elaborate on this more another time. The basic overview is this: you want your boat in the water, but you don't want the water in your boat. We can and should spend time with those who need Christ, but we need to be aware of our own weakness and avoid situations which will tip us over the edge. How close is too close? We must have the discernment of God to see this. Remember that in an airplane, you put your oxygen mask on before helping children around you. You cannot help them if you are incapacitated. In general, you know how close you can get, even if you don't want to know it. More to come on this subject at a later date.